It’s not that I’m unlucky, I’m just not particularly lucky. (Cue Nicki Minaj: “No I’m not lucky, I’m blessed, yes.” I am incredibly blessed and want to take a quick moment to say thank you to the friends and family who have made that so. You know who you are.)

I lose expensive jewelry, I immediately scuff new shoes, and I can’t wear white while eating spaghetti–okay, maybe luck has nothing to do with it and I’m just a big klutz. But after a recent run-in with a pickpocket, I had been feeling like whatever smidge of luck I had left had just about run out.

But then the first day of #LikeableU (which I’ve written about here) drew to a close, and those of us wearing the randomly-doled-out blue bracelets were called to the front of the room. And suddenly I was one of the luckiest 40 people in the room.

One by one, Cary Chessick, CEO at Restaurant.com, handed each of us an envelope containing $500 in varying denominations as part of the launch of Tweet It Forward. In hopes of inspiring more random acts of kindness, he asked us each to take some time to contemplate how we felt about receiving such a gift and what we could do to pay it forward.

I won’t be documenting everything I do with the my money, because I don’t think altruism should be bragged about. But I have to share one moment in particular that I think perfectly embodies the spirit of this social experiment.

The person on the receiving end of my #tweetitforward gift, upon realizing he had just lucked out, literally glowed. He was shining so bright on the inside that his eyes tripled in size. He half-smiled in confused shock and stared at me from gigantic, disbelieving eyes.

All I could do was smile and nod, hoping to convey that I really, truly meant to give him this gift and that I wanted him to feel at least part of what I felt when I was handed $500 out of the blue. That would take anyone by surprise, but I didn’t expect to be speechless from when I was on the other side. I want that feeling back. This kind of giving could get addictive.